Activists: Zimbabwe bans Valentine's marches
HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -- A women's pressure group called off planned Valentine's Day marches in three Zimbabwean cities, saying police had told them the demonstrations were banned.
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Jenni Williams, national coordinator of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), said the group scrapped marches in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls on Saturday after police said they would "shoot on sight" to disperse illegal demonstrators.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena denied police threatened to shoot protesters and said he had no knowledge of WOZA's plans.
Williams said the demonstrations had been intended to highlight social and economic issues facing Zimbabwean women.
Last year police arrested 67 WOZA members in Harare and Bulawayo on Valentine's Day when they took to the streets, offering roses to passers-by and holding banners urging non-violence and tolerance.
Authorities in Zimbabwe, which is facing its worst political and economic crisis in decades, have banned public demonstrations and gathering without police permission since April 2000.
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